November...now you see it, now you don't

I have gotten settled into Indy and I really like the city, so far.  I don't have to venture far to get where I need to go; pretty much everything is on the north side and off of 86th St.  I haven't had to use my GPS yet!  Well, ok, once to get back from the mall because there was construction and I was confused about which entrance I came out of.  But, other than that, I haven't gotten lost!  Today, however, I did have to go to three different Walgreens before I figured out which one my prescription was at.  It's really confusing when there is one on every corner.  

Tree in my apartment complex

I have turned in the second draft of my final grad school paper and I'm looking forward to finishing it!  That has taken up my time, so I haven't really explored the city yet.  I want to go downtown, to Broad Ripple, and Mass Ave.  Downtown has some cool buildings and monuments.  Broad Ripple and Mass Ave are neat little shopping areas.  I might wait for a nice day since it's about to get cold :)


So even though I have been living here for almost a month, I have only been in the city for about 2 weeks because I've been on the road again! (cue musical interlude)  I had to go to NYC for work...rough life, I know :) While I was working, I had a little bit of down time to play.

The view from NYU: Washington Square Park.  You might remember it from August Rush.

Mmmm, chocolate.  Max Brenner is amazing.

 Chinatown has gotten a lot more sophisticated since I was there last time.  If you want a fake LV, Michael Kors, Coach, or Tory Burch bag, you just have to walk down the street.  Just listen to the people standing around and they will repeat the brand names over and over.  If you want one of them, just ask and they will promptly whip out a laminated catalog of what they have.  When they tell you the price, offer them half.  I offered a little more than that and it was eagerly accepted, so I totally should have offered more.  Oh well, next time :)

My super shady back room deal from Chinatown.

HP ad in TSQ!

The Lord and Taylor window display.  I love the light bulbs.

One of my faves.

I love cities at night.  Seriously, look at those gorgeous lights!

Christmas tree abstract.  When my mom saw this she asked why it was blurry.  I told her it is art.

On our way home...look who is in the background!  I hope you were nice this year!

This year was my first time celebrating Thanksgiving away from my family.  It was outrageously expensive to go home for Turkey Day, especially when I'm going home for an extended Christmas break in like 3 weeks, so I went to see one of my best friends and her family in Chicago.  

Atkins approved pumpkin cheesecake. YUM!

The official vodka of the Klipp family.

Racing cars, a favorite Klipp family pastime.

Thank you to Carrie's dad for finally putting on my license plate holder!

All-in-all, a great first month in Indy!  Maybe when I stop traveling I will attempt some real cooking instead of burgers on my George Foreman...

Spain 4

Paella isn't on the list, but how can you not eat some??

Hola Paella!

Adios Paella...

#67: See the Goya frescoes in the Hermitage of San Antonio de la Florida

Photos weren't allowed.  Clearly, I don't follow rules well!

#64: Try the grilled chicken at Casa Mingo

I literally don't know why you would even try anything else here.  Sorry I'm a terrible tourist and didn't get a picture of the actual chicken and hard cider.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it...

#28: See the Guernica at the Reina Sofia.

Please click here to read about this amazing painting.

#46: Visit the Thyssen

#66: Roar with the lions in front of the Congreso de los Disputados

Once an ADPi, always an ADPi <>

#99: Enjoy the graffiti

#91: Meet an old friend for coffee

I mean, wasn't this whole trip about meeting an old friend??  Di doesn't like coffee, so I had coffee with a new friend, Laura!

Cafe con Leche...yum!

#35: Listen to jazz at Cafe Central

Ok, so we went during the day and there was no jazz.  I counted it as a half point.

#21:  See the Don Quijote and Sancho Panza statue in the Plaza de Espana

#15: Eat a sweet treat at La Mallorquina

Chocolate Napoleon 

#10: Climb to the roof of the Circulo de Bellas Artes

#41: Eat Indian food in Lavapies

Surprisingly lacking in spice, but still delish.

Numbers 28, 46, 66, 99, 91, 35, 21, 15, 10, and 41 were all done in one day. Plus a few sites that weren't on the list...

Until next time,

CHRISTMAS WEEK!!!!

I am like a total kid; I LOVE Christmas!  I love all the festive lights and food and music and sweaters...wait, that might be going too far :)  Appropriately, here are my favorite Christmasy things:


5. Christmas Lights!  Check out this house!  Could you imagine being their neighbor??

4. Cake Balls.  If you do not know what these are, please refer to the Pioneer Woman's handy-dandy instructions here or her Halloween themed ones here.  Deliciousness.  Make these today!

Yum Yum Yum

3. Holiday Music.  I definitely turned on the Christmas music on the day after Thanksgiving.  I only bought like 4 new albums this year...my favorites are still the oldies, like "Blue Christmas" by Elvis, "White Christmas" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."  Don't they just make you feel jolly??


2. White Christmas.  Yes, I mean the movie, but I also love a snow-covered Christmas Day!  I mean, if it is going to be cold, can't we have pretty snow to enjoy too?  Anyway, I love the "Sisters" song in White Christmas and how long the inseam is on the pants that Bing Crosby wears.  


1.  My number 1 favorite thing about Christmas is Christmas Morning.  Yea, you could say that is cheating because my favorite thing about Christmas is Christmas, but I specifically mean the morning.  I always try to sleep in, but I'm WAY too excited, even if I know what I am getting for Christmas.  I get excited to give my brother and mom their gifts and enjoy our traditions.  Even now that we are 21 and 24, my brother and I have an inability to sleep in on Christmas.  Sleeping in would be like 8:30...we used to get up at like 6:00, my mom loved it (not).  I am so excited for Saturday!


I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas!

Taking the dreaded Christmas Photo

Every year we take a Christmas Photo.  This photo is sent out with the annual Christmas Letter.  Both of these are painstaking for my mother.  First, she hates being in pictures.  Even if she isn't in the picture, she gets annoyed with my brother and I because about 3 pictures in, we start goofing around.  We, needless to say, enjoy having our photos taken.  (We think we must be adopted)  Second, my mom hates to brag (again, I must be adopted), so you can imagine how difficult it must be for her to write a letter to our nearest and dearest that basically outlines how perfect we are.

I love getting other people's Christmas letters, seeing the painfully perfect photo and how much people have changed and read about their year-in-review.  I hope all of my faithful followers (like all 3 of you) are now inspired to write your own Christmas Letter and will be sending it to me!

Coming to a Christmas Card near you!

Aren't we angelic?

Maybe Mom has a point about the messing around...

Merry Everything!